The Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada receives only an
average of 4.5 inches of annual precipitation, has a yearly evapotranspirational
water requirement of nearly 90 inches, and is one
of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United
States. Like most desert cities in the southwestern United
States, typically 60-90% of all water use by single-family
residences is for landscape irrigation. The Southern Nevada
Water Authority partnered with the US Bureau of Reclamation
to fund a five-year study of the economic and conservation
effects of converting turf landscapes to low-water-use
Xeriscape™.
Results indicated that conversion to xeric landscape produced
significant water savings of 55.8 gal/sq ft annually. Homes that
converted from turf grass to Xeriscape realized a 30% decrease in
yearly total household water use, which equates to 96,000 gal
annually. Xeriscape also provided savings in labor and money.
Compared with owners of properties dominated by turf, the study
group with xeric landscapes reported average annual reductions of
26.4 hours in labor and $206 in direct maintenance expenditures.
Utilities may find it worth while to develop or strengthen
incentive programs to foster conversion to Xeriscape among their
residential and commercial customers. Includes 10 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. 98 - No. 2 |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 610 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 12 |
| Published : | 02/01/2006 |
